Angel's Sorrow
by FluffyOverlord
Summary: The apocalypse has begun but not on earth the battle has started in Heaven with a magical disease. All angels have been infected and are dying one by one. With no available cure hope is dwindling fast. Can Castiel be saved before he becomes the next loss?
1. Chapter 1

_So in preparation for the new season of Supernatural starting next week, I bring you a short-ish chapter story about a possible AU way of season 5 starting! This is pretty much a friendship/family piece, no slash, no romance, at least, not that I have planned at the moment. ;) It's my first SN fic so be kind and I hope I do the boys justice. Hope you enjoy!  
~Fluffy_

**PART 1**

It had been a week since Sam had broken the last seal, a week since Lucifer had risen, a week, and nothing had changed. Dean and Sam were holed up at Bobby's, waiting for the apocalypse to begin, for the rapture to start, anything. Yet it had been the calmest week the trio had ever seen, which was the only oddity they could find. No strange deaths and nothing to suggest there was anything supernatural going on in the world. That was what concerned Dean the most, if the supernatural forces out there weren't spending their energy on causing chaos, what were they spending it on? He paced across the living room floor, his shoes making a clunking sound against the floorboards.

His other concern was the complete lack of Castiel, had he survived the fight against the archangel? If he had, was he being punished for helping Dean escape? Either way the fault seemed to lie with Dean, he was the one who convinced Castiel to help him escape and he was the reason Castiel had had to find the archangel. Of course he was sure if Castiel had heard a bit of these thoughts he'd argue that Dean hadn't forced him to do anything, he had chosen to do them and the fault was his own. Even thinking that, Dean still felt guilty, Castiel had risked so much for him and he hadn't even been able to stop Sam from killing Lillith.

He wondered if indirectly having a part in an angel's death would seal his fate to end up back in hell one day. It wasn't like he had any doubts that that was where he'd spend eternity anyway. Feeling like the pacing wasn't really doing much good; Dean plopped down on the couch behind him and was immediately met by a flurry of feet. He jumped up and saw Bobby's dog looking up at him indignantly from where he had sat.

"Stupid, mutt," Dean said, having had quite enough of the creature. He had never expected Bobby to have an indoor dog, one that got to stay inside and only went outside when the thing wanted to. Much less a dog that could very much be considered a _toy_ dog. It was a Shih-Tzu, what kind of grown man chose to have a lap dog that refused to listen and was much less inclined to fending off dangerous beings? Of course he'd asked Bobby that and Bobby had this big spiel about finding the dog malnourished and dehydrated on the street and couldn't let the thing suffer. Yet the aging hunter hadn't been able to properly explain why he still had the dog and why said dog was now chubby and had a collar with Bobby's number above its name, Pepper.

Dean was still locked in a glaring contest with Pepper-remembering how she'd thieved every spot Dean vacated even if he planned to come back-when Sam walked in.

"If you're done accomplishing nothing with that glare, I have pizza," Sam said, smirking as he walked to the only free table in Bobby's place. Dean glared one last time at Pepper, gave her one 'I'm watching you' gesture with his fingers for good measure, then went after the smell of pizza. As was custom at Bobby's place, if you wanted to sit to eat you had to find your own chair. Dean returned to the living room, pulled a chest off of a chair missing a leg, and carried it back to the table. Sam was back, sitting on a crate and Bobby was just walking in, stool in hand. He sat the stool in front of the table then grabbed plates and three beers out of the fridge.

Sam opened the top box of pizza and put two slices on each plate, setting a plate in front of each seat. This had become a sort of pattern amongst the boys after a week of having nothing to do. They ate, they slept, then they started the whole thing over again the following day. Dean bit into his slice of pizza, once a pleasure he looked forward to but now dull since they'd had this same pizza for dinner the entire week.

"Dude, I can't take this anymore," Dean said, letting the slice of pizza fall to his plate. It landed with a splat, getting droplets of oil all over the table. "Why the hell isn't something happening?"

Sam and Bobby looked at each, hoping someone would have the answer but of course they were all wanting to know the same thing.

"This is like the calm before the storm, boys," Bobby reasoned, his pizza hanging limply from his hand. "Something's gonna happen and we need to be prepared when it does because I get the feeling it's gonna be bigger than we're expectin."

That was as good an answer as Dean could have expected and he sighed and continued to eat his pizza. When he looked down he saw Pepper sitting on the floor next to his chair, staring at him for all she was worth.

"Bobby, could you make your poodle stop staring at me," Dean said, trying to push the dog away with the toe of his shoe. She just moved out of reach and sat back down, continuing to stare.

"She ain't hurtin nothin," replied Bobby.

"She's burning a hole in my head."

Bobby rolled his eyes but whistled and Pepper quickly joined her master, mainly because Bobby table fed her. Which was what he did the moment she sat within his reach, peeling a pepperoni and tossing it to her. Sam was silently eating, looking as he had for the last week, like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Dean knew Sam blamed himself for starting the apocalypse but Dean knew it wasn't entirely his fault. He'd been used and abused by Ruby who had effectively persuaded him into believing her lies. Dean had left Sam with her for six months; if anyone was to blame it was him.

Which seemed to be yet another pattern going around, _things that are Dean's fault_. Suddenly the last slice of pizza on his plate didn't look so appealing. Instead, Dean excused himself from the table and headed for the room that had been designated his. He stepped inside and went straight to the bed where he laid down hoping to fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey! So, I totally planned to update this story sooner but I've had two simultaneous sicknesses and haven't felt well enough to do much. Finally I'm better and so yay, new update! I haven't watched the new episode of Supernatural yet cause I don't want to lose inspiration so anywho, enjoy the new chapter!  
~Fluffy _

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**PART 2**

Dean didn't remember falling asleep, he remembered tossing and turning and getting close to giving up. Then around that time he had slipped off to sleep and was having a pleasant dream. He didn't remember the dream but he remembered the feeling it had left him with. His dreaming, and sleeping, had been interrupted, though he wasn't sure how. He had woken up but nothing had disturbed him, nothing physically anyway. That was when he sensed a very familiar presence and upon looking to the edge of his bed he saw Castiel sitting there, looking deep in thought.

"Cas?" Dean asked sleepily, wondering if he was possibly still dreaming, considering Castiel was one of the many things he had been thinking about before he fell asleep. Castiel looked at Dean over his shoulder, coming out of whatever reverie he was in.

"Dean," Castiel replied, acknowledging that he had heard him speak. Dean sat up in bed, leaning his back against the wall behind him.

"So, you're alive."

"Yes."

Had Dean still not been coming out of his sleep he most likely would have rolled his eyes.

"Can I get more than one word, Cas?" Dean asked. "I thought you were dead, obviously you're not, explanations are a great thing."

"What happened is irrelevant," said Castiel. "I am here to speak about something that is happening now."

"Cas," Dean said annoyed. "I thought you were pushing up daisies, since you aren't; why the hell didn't you contact me sooner?"

"I was recalled to Heaven before my battle with the archangel," Castiel said, and Dean could tell he had been relieved about that. "There have been many changes, all of which I plan to speak with you about."

"I'm all ears."

"We have learned that Zachariah had been in league with Uriel and all the other misguided angels. He was acting on his own orders when we trapped you, of which I was unaware. For so many angels to be supporting the wrong cause, it has never been this bad before. Nothing stays hidden from God long however, especially not the breaking of a final seal and the potential rise of Lucifer. When he learned of what had happened, all angels were recalled to his side to face judgment, myself included. Zachariah was able to avoid being called to God's side, where he would have faced immediate punishment.

"We believed we would not be seeing Zachariah until the battle begun but he was easily found around four days ago but us finding him was no accident. He was prepared to be returned to Heaven because Zachariah had a plan which he had been working on for a very long time. Zachariah discovered a very ancient and evil form of magic, one of which can infect and effectively kill angels. This dark magic had been eradicated and forgotten centuries ago, only the oldest beings even remember its existence. Zachariah chose to be infected with this magic so he could bring this….disease to our doorstep and he was successful.

"The first move has been made, an extermination of an entire species, one of which is vital to win this war. We are dying one by one and with no cure in sight God will not risk razing anymore angels. You may not have seen any war here on earth, Dean, but the apocalypse has begun."

"Wait, slow down," Dean said, trying to take in everything Castiel had said. "You're saying that all of you angels are dying?"

"Yes, many of us have already fallen, it is just a matter of time before all of us are gone," Castiel said, the sadness obvious in his voice.

"But you don't even look sick."

"I have yet to show signs of the disease but I was amongst many who have been infected, it is unlikely that I was not affected."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, Dean, you should know that Heaven cannot aid you in the upcoming fight, we cannot even help ourselves."

"You said that this magic, it was eradicated before, why don't you just do whatever you did to get rid of it last time?" asked Dean.

"This disease was known as the Angel's Sorrow, the magic used to creature it required an angel to sacrifice himself, as Zachariah did. To create the magic required for a cure an angel would have to choose a fate worse than death. Dark magic can only be stopped by the same means it was created," Castiel replied.

"And what exactly is this fate worse than death?"

"A sacrifice to Lucifer, the giving of an angel's soul, and you do not want to know how that angel will spend eternity in hell. What you went through has no comparison to what that angel will endure for the rest of time."

"And one of you did that last time around?"

"Yes and that is why none of us have offered to sacrifice ourselves."

Dean wanted to complain to put up some kind of argument but the look in Castiel's eyes stopped him. It was a look he had never seen Castiel have before and it only took him a moment to realize, it was fear. Whatever happened to angels in hell, it was so horrible that not even one of them was willing to do it, even to save their brethren.

"I must go, there is still much turmoil surrounding these new events," Castiel said, looking up at the ceiling.

"And you're sure there is nothing else that we can do to stop this disease?" asked Dean.

"If there was, Dean, we would be doing it."

And with that Castiel vanished before Dean's eyes and Dean was more than positive that he would not be going to sleep anytime soon.

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_I shall reply to anonymous users as each chapter goes; these were from the first chapter, the next will be from this chapter and so on. If that makes sense. :p_

_~Fluffy_

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**ANONS**

_Sandra_-Thank you for reviewing! Glad you like it.

_Nannon_-Thanks bunches! I'm glad you think it sounds good. ^^

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	3. Chapter 3

_Okay, so for the life of me I cannot remember if it is possible to summon a demon by reading out of a spell book. Like the one Sam usually uses to exorcise demons. Can you lovely readers help me out? :p Could the boys summon a demon, host and all, to a certain spot? Now, onto the story!_

_~Fluffy_

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**PART 3**

Dean very rarely stole Sam's laptop from him and on those occasions the content he looked up wasn't particularly G rated. On this particular occasion, Dean had a legitimate reason to argue with Sam about when Sam found his laptop missing. The sun was still down when Dean walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. There was a small sliver of light coming across the horizon but not enough to provide much light. Dean lay back on the couch and set the laptop of his stomach, then he began to surf the web.

His googling included such searches as angel's sorrow, angel sickness, angel death, basically angel and any horrible thing that could follow. Castiel hadn't been lying when he said this disease had disappeared from existence a very long time ago. Even when he got back nothing that could help him at all he continued to search, he kept thinking if he tried hard enough he'd find something eventually. The sun slowly began to rise outside the window and when it did, Dean heard a very familiar clicking against the floor. When he looked to his left he saw Pepper there in front of him, wagging her tail incessantly with a hint of a whine. Dean knew what she wanted; he groaned and sat up, setting the laptop on the couch.

He then stood up and walked to the front door and opened it where Pepper immediately bolted out. His life was becoming way too patterned and was beginning to make him go stir crazy. He had never stayed this long in one place without having something to occupy his time. When he returned to the living room he saw Sam picking his laptop up, clicking through all the links Dean had opened. He turned when he heard Dean and instead of looking annoyed, as Dean had expected, he seemed confused.

"Dude, why are you looking up," Sam asked, then checked the title. "Ancient magical diseases that can kill angels?"

"Cas visited me last night," replied Dean, and then he continued on to explain about everything Castiel had told him. When he was done Sam fell back into the couch and looked more closely at his laptop.

"I was skeptical we could win against Lucifer _with_ the angels, without them we have no chance," said Sam, running a hand through his hair. "We have to fix this, Dean, we _have_ to."

"I've been searching on that thing since before dawn, Sammy, I'm beginning to think it's kind of hopeless," Dean replied, leaning against the frame of the door.

"Yeah, but you look for stuff on the internet about as well as you look for something you lost."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, Dean, that unless it jumps out and bites you you don't find it."

"That's a total lie, dude."

Sam looked skeptically at Dean and Dean planned to argue some more when he heard the annoying scratching at the door. He left back to the front door and opened it up, allowing Pepper inside. When Dean returned to the living room Sam was obviously trying not to laugh.

"What?" asked Dean.

"She has you whipped," said Sam.

"No, Bobby does, if I were to leave it out there and he found out he'd kill me."

"Whatever you want to tell yourself, man."

Dean rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen deciding coffee was a much needed diversion. He started the coffee maker and when the smell wafted through the house it seemed to stir Bobby who was in the kitchen a couple moments later.

"Morning, sunshine," Dean said, smirking while getting three mugs out of the dishwater.

"Ya know, I remember a time when I woke up to peace and quiet," Bobby replied. "Those were the good days."

"But those days you didn't have someone else to make coffee for you."

Dean poured coffee into each mug and held one out to Bobby who was unable to hide his own smirk. Then Dean took the other two mugs and walked into the living room, sipping on his, he sat next to Sam and handed him the other mug.

"Any luck?" Dean asked.

"Thanks," Sam said, taking the drink. "And no, there is nothing about angels even getting sick. What did you say Castiel called the disease?"

"Angel's Sorrow."

"Angel's Sorrow?" Bobby asked. "Where'd you two hear about that?"

Both Sam and Dean turned to Bobby whose legs were being mauled by Pepper in an attempt to get petted.

"Castiel, I saw him last night," answered Dean, once again recounting the events of the last week to Bobby. "How do you know what it is?"

Bobby held up his finger then went to a bookshelf, running his finger along the spines. Dean didn't know there was any system to Bobby's hundreds of books; they always looked to be haphazardly placed around the house. Yet Bobby easily seemed to find the book he was looking for and pulled it from the shelf. He walked over to Dean, holding the book out to him, Pepper persistently on his heels.

"That book was given to me by an old friend, Van Meeger, one of the few hunters who lived well into old age," said Bobby. "It's even older than him, was in the family for hundreds of years, but with no kids to pass it on to, he entrusted it to me."

Dean carefully opened up the weathered and ancient book, seeing it had many similarities to John's journal.

"It's about a quarter of the way in," added Bobby. Dean flipped through page after page until he saw bold slanted handwriting that spelled out 'Angel's Sorrow.' It detailed much of what Castiel had explained, adding in a few minor details.

"This says everything we already know," said Dean, looking up at Bobby.

"Look closer at the page, kid," Bobby replied, having given in to Pepper and was on one knee petting her. Dean did as Bobby suggested and Sam joined him, having put away his laptop. Sam reached out and ran a finger along the crease of the book.

"There's a piece missing," Sam commented.

"Very good," said Bobby. "It's been missing since I got it and Van said it happened sometime while it was in his possession."

"You think there's something on this missing page that will cure the disease?" Dean asked.

"I dunno but Van said there was two pages on that subject but we never got that far into it. We didn't even know if it was real, we didn't think there was such things as angels. If there's a chance there is somethin', figured you boys would want to take a look."

"Tell us everything you know about this old friend."

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**ANONS**

_Elizabeth_-Thank you very much! ^^ I'm really glad you like it and agree with you on Zacharaiah. loll

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	4. Chapter 4

_Okay so I totally have to just thank all of you who read and reviewed this story so far because it really makes my day every time I get one. I really didn't think this story would get much traffic with all the other amazing Supernatural stories out there so to have so many people reading, it really means a lot. So thank you! I hope you enjoy the new chapter!_

_~fluffy_

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**PART 4**

A few hours later Dean and Sam were on the road to find any friends or acquaintances of Van Meeger. Basically any person that Bobby knew who could have come in contact with the book he labeled _The Tome_. Dean spotted a house without a roof off to the side of the road as he drove and wondered if someone lived there. If they did they would need an umbrella, or two.

"I could have drove," said Sam, noticing how Dean would rub his eyes every now and again and how he kept squinting.

"I'm fine," Dean said. "I've run on way less sleep than this."

"Yeah but I _did_ sleep, so I could drive and not crash."

"You do not get to drive again, not after last time."

"Dean, that car hit me."

"You ran the stop sign!"

"I told you I didn't see it," Sam argued.

"You're just a bad driver, dude," Dean replied.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't been yelling at me about getting the wrong pizza I would have been paying better attention."

"I wasn't yelling at you."

"You were so yelling, I could hear you _clearly_ over your stupid classic rock."

"Hey, don't badmouth my music."

Sam sighed and shook his head.

"Dean, can't you just let it go?" Sam asked.

"Let it go?" Dean replied, chuckling. "It happened _three_ days ago."

When Sam chose not to say anything more, Dean smiled wide and turned up the music, banging his hands on the steering wheel in rhythm with the beat. Sam looked at the map and pointed the right directions out until they were parked in front of a rundown house. Dean turned to Sam, wondering if there was even anyone living there. As if reading his mind, Sam shrugged and began to get out the car. Turning the car off, Dean pocketed the keys then followed Sam to the door of the house.

He knocked then they both waited, when nothing happened Dean knocked again but louder. There was a rummaging sound and then the door opened to a man in his fifties, he looked like he had just gotten out of bed and possibly hadn't showered for a few days.

"Yeah?" the man asked, sounding annoyed.

"Are you Roy Frank?" Dean asked.

"The one and only."

"I'm Dean, that's Sam, we were friends of Van Meeger, we were wondering if we could ask you something."

"Make it quick, I got things to do."

Dean turned to Sam; figuring people seemed more apt to answer him than Dean which Dean didn't understand. Sam pulled up The Tome, showing it to Roy.

"Did Van ever show you this book?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, plenty of times," Roy answered.

"Was it missing," Sam begun, then opened up the book to the part about Angel's Sorrow. "This page?"

"Nah, not the last time I got a look at it, I remember cause Van asked me if I'd ever heard of this _Angel's Sorrow_."

"Do you know who else would have seen it or might have taken this page?"

"Coulda been Terry, Terry Bates I think, always seemed like Terry was interested in that book more than Van."

"Alright, thank you."

Roy grunted then shut the door and Dean walked back to the car and stepped inside at the same time as Sam.

"Is there a Terry Bates on the list?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, looks like Terry lives in an apartment not far from here," Sam answered.

"Lead the way."

Dean followed Sam's instructions on how to get to the apartment that was listed on the page Bobby had given them. They'd gone at least two hours from Bobby's house now but Dean couldn't complain as long as most of the people on the list hadn't moved halfway across the world. When they got to the apartment complex, Rolling Green Apartments, even though the place was desert, Dean pulled into the first available parking spot. They got out of the car and went around to apartments trying to find the correct number. When they did Dean knocked and then they waited. The door opened fairly quickly and Dean was shocked at who he saw on the other side.

It was a woman who couldn't have been older than thirty and she was _very_ attractive, from what Bobby had told them about Van, the guy couldn't have gotten a woman like this.

"Yes?" the woman asked.

"I think we may have the wrong room," Dean said, looking to Sam who shook his head.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Terry Bates."

"That's me."

"Oh," Dean said intelligently. "Uhm, I'm Dean that's my brother Sam, we were friends of Van Meeger and we were just wondering if we could ask you something about him."

"Of course, Van was a really great guy."

Once again Sam put The Tome in view showing it to Terry.

"Did Van ever show you this book?" asked Sam. Dean noticed that Terry seemed to stiffen a bit when she caught sight of the book.

"Yes, he showed it to me once," answered Terry.

"Was it missing this page when he did?" Sam opened the book and pointed to the page following Angel's Sorrow.

"I don't remember," Terry answered, a little _too_ quickly in Dean's opinion. "I only saw the book once and didn't really get to look through it myself."

"Okay, thank you."

"Sure, it was nice to meet you boys."

Terry then shut the door quickly and Dean waited till him and Sam were a good enough distance away to talk.

"Something about her seem off to you?" asked Dean.

"Lots of things," Sam agreed.

"You know, it has been a few weeks since we broke in anywhere, don't want to get rusty."

"Stakeout?"

"Yes, but first we need coffee and doughnuts."


	5. Chapter 5

**PART 5**

Dean and Sam sat in the Impala sipping at their stale coffee and still flicking flakes of doughnut off of their shirts. They'd been sitting in front of Terry's place for quite a few hours but the woman had yet to leave. It was already getting late and Dean was beginning to think that she was a hermit.

"If she doesn't have the page I'm going to be pissed," Dean said, giving up on gagging down anymore of his coffee.

"We don't know for sure if she has the page, Dean," Sam said, eating another doughnut, Dean was thinking it was his third.

"In which case I'll be pissed."

Dean had pulled the Impala to a distant parking spot but one that had a view of Terry's door and he and Sam would take turns watching it with the binoculars. Currently it was Sam's turn and he ate his doughnut and held the binoculars all at the same time. Which meant when Dean got the binoculars they would be sticky.

"Hey, I think I see her door opening," Sam said, and Dean leaned across the car, practically laying across Sam to see out the window. It was too dark and Dean was too far away to see anything even if he squinted. "Yeah, she's leaving, getting into one of those new hybrid cars."

After a few minutes of watching Dean did see the car Sam was talking about, it backed onto the street then headed in the direction of town.

"Let's go," Dean said, jumping out of the car and going to the trunk. He unlocked it and he and Sam began to pull various things into their pocket. Then they walked across the parking lot to Terry's door. Sam began to pick the lock and Dean took guard to make sure no one would get suspicious of them.

"Got it," Sam said, and opened the door, Dean followed him inside, flicking on the first light switch he could find. The place looked like any other apartment Dean had seen, one bedroom, one bathroom, kitchen that opened onto the living room. The only difference was that the place was filled with hunter memorabilia. Clippings on the walls about supernatural events and a few weapons lying around. Sam took Terry's bedroom and Dean rifled through the papers stacked on the coffee table.

Most of them were old newspapers and things that had been printed from the computer. He searched through the cupboards and even looked behind pictures on the bulletin board.  
Dean, come here," Sam called, and Dean walked into Terry's bedroom where he found Sam kneeling in the closet in front of a small square safe.

"Of course, she'd have to have a safe," said Dean, picking up a few things from her dresser and looking at them.

"I don't know if I can crack it, depends on the lock."

"Try, I'll go watch for her to come back."

Sam nodded and pulled a few instruments from his pocket and Dean returned to the front room and opened up the curtain on the window to watch out the door. Every time he saw a car passing by he got ready to yell but they were never Terry's car when he got a good look. They were coming up on being thirty minutes in the apartment, which was way too long for Dean's liking. He knew they needed to leave soon, if she had just gone shopping then she'd be back any minute.

"Sammy, how are things going?" Dean called.

"Busy," Sam called back, and Dean began to tap the top of his gun in frustration. He saw headlights pull into the apartment complex and stopped but once again the lights belonged to a different car than Terry's.

"Dude, seriously, we're coming up on forty five minutes here," Dean said, anxious, he didn't feel like getting arrested for breaking and entering.

"Got it!" Sam called, and Dean wanted to walk in and see what he found but kept watch for Terry to return. A few moments later Sam came out of the room holding a piece of paper in his hand, seemingly pleased.

"Let's get out of here."

Dean and Sam walked out of the apartment, locking the door behind them. They had put everything back the way they had found it and Terry would only know they were there if she checked the safe. Once they got back into the car Sam immediately began to read over the paper.

"Well?" Dean asked.

"Well," Sam replied, handing the paper to Dean. "Looks like the way they did it before was really the only way, what that's suggesting is impossible."

Dean read over the paper and sat back in his seat, sighing, it seemed that the search for the missing page hadn't really done them much good at all.


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry it took longer than usual to update! It's been a busy last few weeks and it's gonna be a busy next few weeks! I'll try to update every chance I get. I hope you enjoy the new chapter!_

_~Fluffy_

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**PART 6**

When Dean and Sam got back to Bobby's it was already getting close to midnight but Bobby was awake, sitting on the couch with Pepper curled up in his lap.

"You two find anything?" asked Bobby, putting down the book he had been reading.

"We found the page," Dean said, holding it up. "But it isn't really going to do us much good."

"And why's that?"

"Because what this page suggests is impossible."

"Enlighten me."

Dean handed the paper to Sam who would be much better at explaining it to Bobby than him.

"Dean said that Castiel told him that dark magic can only be stopped by the same means it was created," Sam begun. "But this page suggests that dark magic can be stopped within the same means it was created."

"I'm not following you."

"To start this disease an angel had to sacrifice himself and by doing so his soul would be delivered to Lucifer and for the disease to be cured the same would have to happen. This page suggests that because the power of magic used to create this disease was dark if we were to create that same amount of magic but a light form, we could accomplish the same thing."

"And what were the suggestions on how to go about doing that?" Bobby asked skeptically.

"There was only one we could think of," Dean replied. "_If_ a demon were to swear allegiance to god and give his soul to him for eternity."

"There ain't no chance in hell that's happening."

"Accurately put, looks likes we've lost our only ally in this war."

Sam kept his head down as he stalked off to his room, Tome in hand, he'd probably be up all night reading it. Bobby stood up and put his hand on Dean's shoulder for a brief moment before him and Pepper also went off to bed. Figuring it was late and everyone else had gone off to bed, Dean decided to do the same. He walked into his bedroom, making sure to shut the door in case Pepper tried to disturb him during the night. When Dean turned back around, he saw Castiel sitting on his bed, startling him just a bit, though he'd never admit it.

"Hello, Dean," said Castiel.

"Hi," Dean said.

"I've been told that you found something about Angel's Sorrow."

"Is anything we do private?"

"Whatever you found won't work," Castiel said, ignoring Dean's question. "If it did we would have done it instead of losing a fellow angel forever."

Dean walked over to his bed and sat down, figuring he might as well be comfortable as he talked.

"You knew there was another way, didn't you?" Dean asked.

"Yes, I knew there was a possibility but an unachievable one," answered Castiel.

"Could have brought it up anyway."

"I did not want to give you anymore false hope."

"Believe me, I would have been feeling just as hopeless had you mentioned it before as I am now."

Castiel did not reply, instead he looked down at his feet and Dean noticed for the first time that he didn't particularly look good. His skin looked paler and his eyes had lost their usual luster. Dean swiped absently at his head as something began to tickle his cheek, he flicked it away and instead whatever it was fell onto his shirt. He went to flick it off but then he noticed what it was and picked it up between his fingers. It was a fluffy white feather and Dean figured the only person who had feathers in this room was Castiel. The next thing that struck him was that a sign of Angel's Sorrow was an angel losing their feathers.

"Cas?" Dean asked, and Castiel looked up, noticing the feather in his hand. "You've gotten this thing, haven't you?"

"I have begun to show signs of the disease," Castiel replied, much more calmly than Dean would have managed. The angel knew that in a matter of days he was going to die and yet he didn't seem concerned at all.

"How long?"

"It varies; depending on how fast the other angels diminished, I believe I have three days at the latest."

Dean wasn't sure what to say, Castiel didn't look depressed by the fact he was about to die so saying something comforting seemed out. It seemed like Dean was more concerned about Castiel dying than Castiel himself. Even though he hated to admit it, he'd grown used to Castiel, even considering him a friend. He didn't want to just sit by and watch him die any more than he wanted to sit by and watch Bobby or Sam die. It seemed like if he were to say anything of the sort to Castiel he wouldn't understand and that would create an unnecessary chick flick moment. That left them both sitting in silence, both unsure what else to say, or even if there was anything more _to_ say.

"I should go, I have much to do," Castiel said, breaking the silence.

"Alright, goodbye, Cas," Dean replied.

"Farewell, Dean."


	7. Chapter 7

_Hello, all! So, I am doing NaNo come November 1__st__ so updates might be slower for the month due to the fact I'll be writing like mad. :p If you're doing NaNo and want to hit me up, my name there is fluffyaddict. Hope you enjoy the new update!_

_~Fluffy_

_*************************_

**PART 7**

Dean didn't sleep, he had barely slept any the night before and he couldn't sleep at all after Castiel had left. Instead of attempting it he got out of bed and went to Sam's door and knocked. Sam answered quicker than he had been expecting and Dean saw that he must not have been to sleep yet.

"We need to find a demon," said Dean.

"What?" Sam asked, rubbing his temples.

"We need to find a demon and we need to beat the hell out of him, literally."

"I thought you said you didn't even want to try."

"I do, right now."

"Dean, it's one o'clock in the morning, we need sleep first."

"I can't sleep, I want to _do_ something."

Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"What has changed since before we went to bed and now?" he asked.

"Nothing, really," Dean answered, shifting his gaze.

"Dean."

"Alright, so Castiel may have come to me and told me trying to do this other magic is impossible, don't try it, yada, yada, yada."

"And you want to prove him wrong?"

"No, well, yes but no."

"You're totally confusing me, dude."

"Castiel is sick; he says he only has three days, okay?"

Dean didn't want to admit to Sam that he cared, about anything, much less an angel he hadn't even known that long. Admitting that he wanted to save Castiel meant that he would admit that him dying was not something Dean wanted to happen. Which all came down to the fact that he _cared_. He figured Sam would tease him or ask him if he was about to hug him but he didn't. Instead he returned to his bed, grabbed his coat, and walked back to Dean.

"Any ideas where to start?" Sam asked. Dean felt himself smile; this was one of the few times when he really felt the connection between him and Sam as brothers. Sam knew this was important to Dean and wasn't about to say anything to make him regret telling him.

"No but I figured we could maybe try to summon one," Dean replied.

"Where?"

"That abandoned house without the roof that we saw on the way to meet Roy."

"Let me get the supplies and I'll meet you in the Impala."

Dean nodded and walked out of Bobby's house figuring he didn't see a point in bothering Bobby. He walked to the Impala and stepped inside, after starting it he turned on the heat. It was always colder during the night, or was it considered morning by now? After a few minutes the passenger door opened and Sam stepped inside. Dean pulled the car onto the road not soon after and drove towards the house they had seen earlier that day.

"Dean," Sam said, and Dean didn't like the tone Sam was going with. "You do know that this is a long short right? Convincing a demon to be good and to have the demon actually, really, mean it and want it. There may be one but the odds of us summoning that one are against us."

"It's about time we're due for some luck," said Dean. "Especially when we're the good guys."

Sam just looked sadly at Dean across the car and Dean tried not to let the look get to him. If he did then he would turn the car around and go straight back to Bobby's. His hope was already low enough; if anything were to make it any lower he'd have none at all. The drive was silent after that until they arrived at the abandoned house. They both stepped out and Dean picked out a few weapons from the trunk while Sam began preparing all the supplies to summon the demon. Dean shut the trunk and walked into the house.

He saw Sam chalking the pentagram on the ground and then set out all the supplies around the pentagram and lit a few candles. Then he stepped back and pulled out the book of incantations and turned to Dean.

"You sure you want to do this?" Sam asked.

"Not really much else we can do," Dean replied. San shrugged and flipped to a page in the book and began to read off the incantation. At first nothing happened, then the more Sam read the more the wind began to kick up inside the house, blowing dust around. The candles flickered but didn't go out, a moment later a disheveled woman appeared inside the pentagram. The wind ceased upon her appearance and she fixed her hair and looked at her surroundings. Then her gaze landed on Dean and Sam and her face broke into a knowing smile. That was when Dean realized that it was Terry Bates, the woman whose apartment they had broken into.

"You know, there's a bet going on about how long it would take you two to try summoning one of us," said Terry. "Imagine that, we go away and you miss us so much you want us back."

"Delusions are a sign of serious illness," replied Dean. "You must be damn good at acting human, to be around hunters and not be dead yet."

"That was my mission, get close to Van, steal the pages on Angel's Sorrow and not die. Only managed to get the one though, Van was very protective of that book. He rarely left it alone, especially when he had company. Then that idiot left the book with the old man and his place is harder to break into than the bank. Didn't stop me from continuing to try though, then you two had to break into my place and steal the page from me."

"Sorry to inconvenience you so greatly," Dean said sarcastically.

"Not to worry, I'll get both of the pages eventually," Terry said, smiling. "So, what question are you thinking of asking first? Where are we? Why aren't we attacking your mangy little earth? Didn't Lucifer rise or something?"

"Nope, I want you to denounce your allegiance to Lucifer and give your soul to God."

Terry was taken aback by this, completely surprised by what Dean had said and it took her a moment to recover.

"This has something to do with those paragons dying doesn't it? Someone has read the stolen page," she said. "You want to save your feathery friends. Or is it, friend? Does your little guardian happen to have this Sorrow, Deancakes?"

"Seems you're the one with all the questions," said Dean. "I only make requests."

"And your request is for me to join the losing team?"

"Simple as."

"Thanks but no thanks, I'm happy where I am and just for your reference you can't threaten me. You can send me back to hell but hell on earth will be coming soon enough and I'll be free once it does."

"When I was in hell I was taught by Alastair on how to extract information rather forcefully, I could show you."

Dean thought he saw a flash of fear cross Terry's eyes but she merely smirked and crossed her arms.

"I don't think your God would want that," she said.

"It's not about what he wants," said Dean.

"Do you really believe there is such a being, Dean? Do you not have doubts with everything that has happened?"

"I used to but not anymore."

"You trust so completely in your angel?"

"Yes."

Terry shook her head then looked at Sam.

"What about you?" she asked. "Do you trust as blindly as your brother?"

Sam looked at the woman then at Dean before slowly nodding his head.

"Haha! Even your own brother has doubts, you should follow his example, Deancakes, there is no God."

"Get rid of her, Sam," Dean said, shaking his head, he knew when he was looking at a lost cause. Sam nodded and began to exorcise the demon; once the thing was gone Dean approached the woman's body. He checked for a pulse and found a faint one; Dean picked her up then carried her to the car, setting her gently in the backseat. Then he stepped into the car and waited for Sam to gather his things and join him. Once he did, Dean began to drive towards the hospital to drop the woman off.

"After all of this, after everything, you still have doubts?" Dean asked, unable to contain the question any longer.

"You do too," Sam replied.

"Not really, there are still some things but I trust Cas, he's earned that much."

"You trust Cas? You barely know him, Dean."

"Look at everything he's done, he's risked everything for us, Sam, even his life."

"Maybe, or maybe it just seemed that way. How can you trust him so easily?"

"So easily? _So_ easily? I trusted you and look how that turned out. It took a lot for Cas to earn my trust and it is well earned."

"Are you finally admitting that all of this is my fault?"

"It is your fault! You trusted a demon over me!"

"And you're trusting an angel over me!"

"You made it that way."

"Fine," Sam said, crossing his arms. "You can go ahead and believe whatever you want, Dean, and I will too."

"Fine," Dean replied, wondering what had happened to that brotherly connection he'd felt earlier with Sam.

*************************

**ANNONS**

_Supernatural fan-_You'll find out! I promise. ^^ Thanks for the review and I'm glad you like the_ story._

_Melissa Brite-_Thanks so much, hun. Glad you like it. :D

****************************


	8. Chapter 8

**PART 8**

After dropping the woman off at the hospital Dean and Sam drove back to Bobby's in silence. When they walked into Bobby's house Sam went straight to his room, completely disregarding Bobby who had come to the door.

"What's that all about?" Bobby asked, jutting his thumb in Sam's direction. Dean sighed deeply then continued on to explain what had happened between them, along with speaking to Castiel and summoning the demon.

"You two are idiots," Bobby replied, shaking his head. "You're the only family you've got and you're constantly arguing. Don't you think there are more important things going on?"

"We were arguing about those things, Sam doesn't trust Castiel and therefore he doesn't trust anything he says. If that's true then how can he want to save him?"

"Look at the facts, Dean, Castiel rarely appears when either me or Sam's around. He hasn't given us any proof that there is a God or that any angels are even dying. You can't blame Sam for being skeptical, hell, I'm skeptical but I believe the angels are dying. If only because hell on earth ain't here yet."

"He could trust me, Bobby, he doesn't have to believe in Castiel or even trust him. Sam should trust me if nothing else and he doesn't."

"Then make him."

Dean ran a hand through his hair and patted Bobby on the shoulder, he didn't like it but Bobby was right. His eyes were stinging from lack of sleep and he was starting to get a headache but there was no point in trying to sleep until he talked to Sam. Bobby went outside and Dean walked down the hallway and stopped in front of Sam's door. He waited a few minutes, then knocked. There was silence on the other end and Dean knocked again but louder to the same treatment.

"Sammy, it's me, I want to talk," said Dean.

"I don't," came Sam's voice.

"Dude, are you really going to make me talk to you through the door?" Dean didn't get a reply, he tried not to make any annoyed sounds that Sam might hear. "Fine, I just wanted to say that I'm….you know...I'm…sorry. I shouldn't have gotten mad about you not trusting Castiel and I don't think you're responsible for starting all this, I am, it's all my fault."  
Dean was going to leave it at that and go to his room but then Sam opened the door and looked out at him.

"This isn't your fault either, Dean," Sam said, leaning against the doorframe. "You did everything you could, we both did."

"It wasn't enough."

Sam frowned. "What else could we have done," he said, it wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"I don't know but it just seems like we're missing something, like we could be doing something right now but we just aren't seeing it," Dean sighed.

"Dean, you knew summoning a demon was a long shot, we found the page, we've tried everything within our power to save Castiel."

"I just don't understand, we're trying to stop this, to save all the angels and God isn't doing anything to help, doesn't he want this to end?"

"If I believed there was a God I would understand how he couldn't help, it's not his job to save everyone. He gave us the will to help ourselves and the power to save or destroy; taking anything away by helping us would be void of what we were given."

"If you don't believe in God, how would you know that?"

"I used to believe, Dean, at one point, before Jessica, before all of this, I believed."

"I'm going to try to get a few hours sleep; I can't even think straight I'm so tired. When I get up I want to sit down and examine that page more. Maybe there was something I missed."

"I'll look at it, if I find anything I'll let you know."

Dean nodded then found himself smiling at Sam before walking down to his room and stepping inside. He stepped over to his bed and fell down on it, not even bothering to take off his shoes or jacket. It was slightly cold but he didn't feel like reaching down and pulling the blanket over him. He just wanted to sleep, nothing more had ever sounded so wonderful in his life than a nap. His eyes slowly slid shut and he felt himself drift off.

* * *

**ANONS**

_Claudia-_Thanks! I'm glad you like story. And I'm trying not to make a Ruby-like situation. It wasn't that great the first time around. :p

_Tina_-I'm happy you like it! Thanks so much for reviewing. ^^

_Deanna_-Cas is awesome, complete agreement there. ^.~ Thanks for reviewing and I'm so glad you like the story.


	9. Chapter 9

**PART 9**

When Dean woke up it was odd that it was dark, he had only planned on being able to sleep a few hours, three at the most. For the day to have slipped away meant that he had been asleep for a good eight hours or more. He sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked down at his ruffled clothes. That was when he heard a loud shuffling coming from the front room then frantic voices. Dean quickly stood up and had to catch himself from falling, sleep still slightly fogging his senses. He rushed to the door then out into the front room where he saw Bobby and Sam setting Castiel onto the couch.

The angel looked much worse than when Dean had last seen him. The color that had once tinted his skin was completely gone, leaving him as pale as a ghost. He seemed to be perspiring greatly and Dean could see beads of sweat forming on his face. The floor was scattered with feathers and one wing was twisted at an odd angle under Castiel's body. Dean walked over to him, kneeling down in front of the couch.

"Lift him for a minute, guys, his wing doesn't look good," Dean said, and Sam lifted Castiel under the shoulders and Bobby got his legs. When he was high enough Dean got under him and straightened out his wing and Sam and Bobby set him back down.

"Thank you," Castiel rasped.

"What are you doing here, Cas, you probably shouldn't even be moving," said Dean.

"I asked to be allowed to come here," Castiel replied.

"Why?"

"I am dying; if I had waited any longer I would not have been able to do so."

"Okay but why come here, why not stay in Heaven?"

"I do not have many friends in Heaven and those I was acquainted with have all been lost to this disease. I did not wish to be alone in the last few hours of my life, I wished to be with people I had become attached to."

"Us?"

"Yes, you are the closest people whom I would consider friends."

"We're here for you, Cas, anything you need."

Castiel nodded then lay back on the couch and closed his eyes. Dean shook his head in the direction of the kitchen and Sam and Bobby followed him inside.

"It's alright that he's here?" Dean asked, mainly to Bobby.

"Yeah, I don't got any problems with it," answered Bobby and Sam just nodded.

"Did you find anything more on that page, Sammy?"

"No, there's nothing more, just the same thing we surmised, this disease can only be cured by sacrificing an angel or a demon giving themselves to God," answered Sam.

"I can't just sit by and watch Castiel die in front of me and not do something!"

"You've done all you can, boy, it's not like you've just been sitting around twiddling your thumbs the last few days," Bobby replied.

"We should summon another demon," said Dean.

"It won't work, Dean, no matter what we do we're not going to find a demon to give in. Not when they're so close to having their chance to take over the world," added Sam.

"It won't hurt to try."

"Demons are like snakes, you push them they're going to push back, kid, how far do you think you can push the demons?" asked Bobby. Dean knew Bobby was right, if they kept summoning demons and sending them back to hell they weren't just going to sit back and allow it. It almost seemed worth it to him though to try but if he did he'd most likely be doing it alone.

"What can we do?" Dean asked, he could hear the defeat in his voice.

"Castiel said he wanted to be around friends," said Sam, frowning. "I think we should give him what he wants."

Dean nodded and walked back into the front room, he noticed that Sam and Bobby weren't following him. He was sure they were going to talk about this whole situation, and _him_, which meant he couldn't be there. Dean grabbed a chair and pulled it in front of Castiel on the couch and sat down. Castiel opened his eyes a moment later and turned his head to look at Dean.

"You are concerned," said Castiel, sounding surprised.

"Well, you happen to be dying," Dean replied.

"I explained that I am not worried about this outcome."

"I don't like people to die, Cas, even if you don't care I do because there have been enough deaths."

"You feel guilt, you do not need to, Dean, you have nothing to do with what is happening to us."

"But I couldn't stop it."

Castiel tried to sit up but Dean gently pushed him back down.

"You're sick, just stay comfortable," he said, and sat back on his chair.

"I clearly explained that finding a cure was impossible yet you still tried, does that not show that you did everything you could?" asked Castiel.

"If I had done everything I could I would have found a cure."

"No, you would not have, we have faced this once, we did everything possible then, there is nothing else left."

"How do you accept it?"

"It is an inevitability, Dean, all death is."

"But yours is a forced death, not natural."

"Dying in their sleep is not a luxury many people are afforded."

"I see your point; can I do anything for you?" Dean asked.

"Not blame yourself," replied Castiel, but that was not something Dean could manage just then as he looked at Castiel. Broken, dying, looking like he was fading into nothing and crumbling into himself. Right then the only person Dean could blame was himself, he hadn't done enough and he couldn't do anything more.


	10. Chapter 10

_Sorry about the super short chapter! But it was necessary to have this short little piece so I hope you enjoy it anyway. ^^_

_~Fluffy_

**PART 10**

Dean wasn't exactly sure what stage of the disease Castiel was in; he said two nights ago that he had three days which meant he was most likely on his third day. Which also meant it was his last day and he looked it. His skin had gotten gaunt and his wings were practically gone, with just a few feathers clinging on at his back. His eyes barely managed to stay open when he spoke and his voice had gotten to where he could barely speak above a whisper. He could no longer move but luckily angels didn't need to do anything humans did.

Dean spent most of his time with Castiel, keeping him company and asking him questions about angels and about God. He had gotten to where he didn't sleep again but one night Sam made him leave Castiel and swore he'd watch over him. Dean had slept but not very easy, wondering if Castiel would still be there when he awoke and luckily he was. Sam however had acted different and Dean sat down close to Castiel and leaned closer to him.

"What's up with Sam?" asked Dean.

"He asked me many questions about God," answered Castiel. "He seemed to contemplate my answers and when I was finished he asked nothing else."

"Sam doesn't believe the way I do."

"I know and I understand why, all must come to belief on their own, it cannot be forced on them."

"Do you know how things are, you know, up there?"

Castiel looked up to the ceiling and then back at Dean.

"Same as when I left, many deaths, more angels are dead than alive and only few of us have not been infected yet and those are the ones who were not in Heaven and who have stayed on Earth."

"No one stupid enough to sacrifice themselves yet?"

"I am afraid not."

Dean just nodded; he could understand why all of them would be afraid of a fate worse than death.  
"Cas," Dean said, looking up to meet Castiel's eyes. "How are we supposed to win this war on our own?"

"Do you honestly want me to answer?" Castiel replied. Dean really didn't but he had to know what Castiel thought and so he nodded. "I am unsure if it will be possible, with the angels there was a chance. Without the aid of Heaven…it does not look good."

"Cheery, any suggestions?"

"Don't die, I cannot save you this time if you do."

"Any _strategy_ suggestions?"

"You should attempt to gather other hunters, working in groups will help you during extended battles and for support."

"Hunters don't generally work together, Cas."

"To save earth, Dean, they will have to."

Dean could tell the effort to speak was becoming more difficult for Castiel but the angel was too proud to admit it.

"Cas, I have to know," said Dean. "How much longer do you have?"

"Castiel sighed deeply and looked at Dean with the saddest look he'd ever seen on the angel's face.

"I highly doubt I will have another night," Castiel answered.

And you're sure there's nothing we can do for you?"

"What you have already done is more than enough."

Dean just nodded even though he felt like he could have done something, anything, but just couldn't quite grasp it. He stood up and squeezed Castiel's shoulder softly before turning around to go look at the page from The Tome again. As he did he swore he saw someone watching him from the hallway but when he looked there was no one. Dean chalked it up to his very sleep deprived brain and walked into his room, unaware that the person watching had been Sam.


	11. Chapter 11

**PART 11**

Dean had only felt this horrible rare few times in his life. When he lost his mom, when he lost his dad, and when he almost lost Sam. That feeling of complete hopelessness and guilt over not being able to do a single thing to stop people he loved from dying. Now here he was, feeling that way again as he read over the pages on Angel's Sorrow from The Tome. It hadn't really occurred to Dean that he even had any feelings towards Castiel, good or bad. Their relationship was neutral, lukewarm, indifferent, platonic, Castiel was just there.  
Dean had realized in the last few days though that that wasn't true. He and Castiel somehow, amongst dragging Dean from hell and inadvertently bringing forth the apocalypse, became friends. Castiel may not care that he was going to die but Dean did, he just couldn't seem to say it out loud. Maybe if he did Castiel would fight harder, beat this thing and live. Somehow though Dean doubted there was any way to fight this disease off, even if an angel wanted to. Night was approaching fast and Dean decided to sit with Castiel, if tonight was his last Dean didn't want him to spend it alone.

Closing The Tome, Dean left the book on his nightstand and walked back into the front room. Castiel still lay on the couch; his eyes were closed with a look of pain wrinkling his brow. Dean had a feeling that Castiel had held back the pain when talking to him, which meant that he had probably always felt a semblance of pain. Losing the feathers of his wings and slowly dissolving into nothing couldn't be painless. If possible Castiel appeared even worse than when Dean had left him that morning, it was like the only thing Castiel could control anymore was his voice and eyes.

All other functions were gone, even the movement of a single finger or toe. Dean sat down quietly on the chair but Castiel still heard him, his eyes opened and he looked over at Dean.

"You do not have to be here to watch my demise, Dean, I do not require that of you," Castiel rasped.

"No one should have to be alone," Dean replied, unable to say the word _die_.

"It is not a painful death, I will simply vanish in a ray of light, my soul recalled to heaven."

"Even if it wasn't you aren't getting rid of me."

"It is your choice."

Dean just nodded, solidifying his choice to Castiel. He knew he had asked this question before but no answer seemed to satisfy him.

"How are you not afraid, Cas? You will be gone and won't be able to come back," said Dean.

"I know that I will return to Heaven, for an angel that is what we all want when our missions are complete. There is nothing to fear, I am prepared for my fate."

"I'm not, Cas, I don't….I don't want you to die."

Dean had swore he would keep those words to himself, what good would they have now? But the way Castiel was so calm and collected, even in the face of death, Dean just couldn't contain himself. Didn't the angel realize his opinion wasn't the only one that mattered?

"I know I made things seem bleak earlier, Dean, but you could win this fight against hell without the angels. I have been thinking and by rising Lucifer has broken the rules he and God made many years ago. I may be able to speak to God about interfering or helping. Especially now that he can do so."

Dean knew this was the simple way of getting out of telling Castiel that he wasn't talking about angels in general, he was talking about Castiel himself. He could just go with what Castiel said but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to. If Castiel was going to die then Dean had to tell him that he wasn't just neutral or indifferent with the angel. He was Dean's friend, comrade, brother, and he _wanted_ him to just be there.

"That's not what I meant," Dean replied. "I mean, I _do_ want to save all the angels but, Cas, I don't want you, personally, to die."

"Why?" Castiel asked, the one question Dean had been hoping he wouldn't ask. Dean wasn't the sharing type and he didn't even know how to tell Castiel that he considered him a friend.

"Because Dean thinks of you as a brother," came Sam's voice. Dean turned and saw him standing in the doorway, leaning against the wall. "Losing you will feel the same to him as it would to lose me or Bobby."

Dean found Sam's timing to be great, he would have never thought of those words but they expressed what he had meant. He didn't know that Sam had really been paying that much attention to him and Castiel.

"I did not know that you thought of me as a friend," Castiel said, a hint of sadness in his voice at the words.

"You raised me from perdition," Dean said, quoting some of Castiel's first words to him. "Hard to forget something like that."

"It means very much that you consider me a friend, Dean, I do not have many in Heaven."

"You know how angels are," Dean said, joking slightly and Castiel managed a small smile which he didn't remember ever seeing on the angel. Then Castiel went rigid, his face distorted slightly in pain and his eyes squeezed shut. Dean stood up and kneeled down in front of the couch wondering what he could do to help.

"The….disease is…taking over," Castiel gasped. Dean's eyes grew wide, he knew what that meant, Castiel was about to die. He looked back at Sam but saw his eyes were closed and he couldn't understand what his brother was doing.

"Come on, Cas, you're stronger than this disease," said Dean, finally deciding to rest a hand on the angel's arm.

"I was…lucky…to know…you, Dean," Castiel said, his eyes turning to Dean, and it was as if Dean could see the light leaving them. Dean's eyes darted everywhere around the room but there was nothing he could do. Then a brilliant flash of light lit up across the couch and then it was gone and Dean was holding nothing under his hand. He felt his chest heaving in and out and hadn't even known that he had started breathing hard. It didn't seem to connect right away that Castiel was gone but it didn't take long for his brain to figure it out. Instead of trying to stand up he sat back on his legs and let his arms drop to his sides.

He faintly heard the sound of footsteps then a clunking sound as Sam sat next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Dean usually didn't allow for such chick flick moments but his mind wasn't even thinking about that. He was thinking about Castiel and the fact he was gone, dead, just like John and Mary and there had been nothing Dean could do to stop it.

* * *

_I forgot to thanks anons for a while so they shall be thanked here as well as the new ones. :P_

_~Fluffy_

* * *

**ANONS**

_kaylA_-Thank you, dear! I definitely agree that sick/hurt! Cas is love. ^^

_Melissa_-Brite-Thanks so much! :D I'm so glad you're still loving the story.

_Sandra_-Thanks for the review! You'll just have to wait and see what I have in store for Cas. Cause I'm evil. :p


	12. Chapter 12

**PART 12**

Once Dean had managed to get off the floor and pry Sam away from him he had gone to his room and shut the door. He locked it, not wanting anyone to bother him, then he went to the bed and lay down across his. There was no possibility that he would have any chance at sleep but the events of the last few days seemed to finally catch up to him and he felt his eyes sagging much faster than he had imagined. It wasn't long before he had fallen asleep and was haunted by dreams of all the people Dean had lost. All the people he couldn't save and Castiel was the one taking him through the memories. Dean woke up out of his sleep in a cold sweat and saw that it was five in the morning.  
He sat up in bed and tried to calm down, running a hand across his face and rubbing his eyes. Dean then stood up and walked to his door, stepping out into the empty hallway, realizing he hadn't even changed out of his clothes from the previous day. He definitely needed a shower and coffee, as he was walking to the bathroom he heard a noise coming from the front room. Dean couldn't imagine Bobby or Sam up rummaging around in the front room at this hour. He snuck back into his room and grabbed a gun before slipping back into the hallway and edging towards the front room.

When he was able to peek around the corner into the room he saw a very familiar face digging around the books in the bookcases. Dean held out his gun and cocked it; the noise drew the person's attention.

"You," Dean said.

"Hello to you too, Deancakes," Terry said, smiling widely. "I just want to thank you so much for preserving this body, I really loved it and it would have been a crime for it to have been damaged."

"What are you doing here?"

"A little bird told me that you've lost your precious angel, I wanted to give my condolences."

"You could die, that would definitely make me feel better."

"So it's true, tsk tsk, he would have been wonderful to kill in combat, such a fighter he was, especially lasting as long as he did with the disease."

"Either tell me why you're here or I'll shoot you where you stand," said Dean, stepping closer to Terry. She sighed and crossed her arms across her chest.

"I've been demoted to messenger duty, I suppose, for being able to be summoned by you. Because we have, well, already basically won with the pesky aviary bunch out of the way I've come to let you know that the apocalypse has officially begun. Hell is pouring forth as we speak and we thought we should give you a head start, even though it won't really do you much good," Terry replied, her overly cheerful explanation of the situation annoying Dean greatly.

"Thanks, so I'll just kill you now then."

"You could, yes, but hell in open, Dean, if you kill me I'll just leave this body and go into another. Seems like such a waste of this poor girl's life, don't you think?"

"How do I know you aren't going to try and kill me if I don't kill you?"

"You don't."

Dean kept his gun trained on Terry who didn't seem fazed or even concerned at her current situation. He had to agree that all her points were good, hell was open, sending her there really didn't mean she was going to stay there. Plus Dean didn't want to kill the host body as it would be for nothing. He lowered his gun and Terry smiled again.

"Good decision, Deancakes, I knew you were smart," she said, then walked towards the front room coming precariously close to Dean. Then in one quick motion she was in front of him with a knife pressed to his neck. "You humans are all so weak, risking your life for another, how silly you are."

"We're not all selfish bastards like you."

"That's the only way to go, cause see, we're _winning._"

The woman dug her knife into Dean's neck; he could feel the blade cutting into his flesh.

"So sad to kill you, what a waste of a great body," said Terry, then there was a flurrying noise and it distracted her long enough for Dean to knock her away and raise his gun but a hand came down on his forcing him to lower the gun. Dean turned and saw Castiel standing beside him and he wondered if he had died, had Terry really killed him?

"Let me handle this, Dean," said Castiel, he stepped forward towards the woman who was looking at Castiel much the same way Dean was. Like they had just seen a ghost. She held the knife out in front of her, prepared to attack Castiel with it but Dean knew from experience that knives had no effect. As the woman brought the knife down to stab Castiel he grabbed her hand, stopping her, then he used his free hand to bring his palm to her forehead. The woman's eyes rolled into the back of her head and light came from underneath Castiel's palm. Then he released her and she crumpled to the ground in a heap. Castiel turned back to Dean, who was still staring at the angel in shock. "We must speak."

* * *

**ANONS**

_Megan_-It's true, I am pretty evil. ;) Haha! Glad you're totally loving the story! Thanks so much for the review, love.


	13. Chapter 13

_Wow, so I'm am freakin' sorry about taking so darn long! Firstly I was at Florida for a week visiting the lovely Disneyworld for my birthday, while there my computer totally crashed on me! The Geek Squad had it for three weeks where they figured out the hard drive crashed, I had to order recovery discs, and then I got sick, twice. All while moving into a new house so I've had a pretty ghastly last few weeks. Gah. Anywho, I am finally managing to update so I hope you guys enjoy and sorry again about the long wait. ;)  
~Fluffy_

**PART 13**

Dean had woken Sam and Bobby and all four of them sat in the front room, waiting for Castiel to explain what had happened and why he wasn't dead.

"I would have come sooner but even we needed explanations for why our disease was cured," Castiel begun. "Sam, did you pray for me to God? Did you ask him to save me?"

All eyes turned to Sam who shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Yes, I couldn't think of anything else to do and I figured Dean had already been through enough in the last year so I prayed, it was the only thing I hadn't done," Sam answered.

"We had always assumed that the only way for the spell to be broken was by a demon giving their soul to God. An eye for an eye. But everyone always underestimates the power of belief and what magic that can create. Sam is something different than human, he has demon blood inside him and that makes him have a perquisite for creating the magical cure. By him praying he showed that he believed and that he could give his soul to God one day. Even if a demon were to do the same there was no proof they would continue to be faithful. All the spell required was for a demon, or someone very like a demon, to believe there was a God and that belief created the magic that saved us all."

Dean slapped Sam on the back, giving his brother a thumbs up but Sam didn't look overly thrilled by the idea he had saved the angel's life. He figured it was probably due to the fact that Castiel had called him a demon.

"We're glad you're alive, Cas," said Dean, keeping that as the only sentimental sentence he'd ever use. "Now, what was that whammy thing you pulled on the demon?"

"Remember when I told you that Lucifer had broken the rules by rising?" Castiel asked, and Dean nodded. "God didn't fail to notice, he no longer is required to not personally interfere with the affairs of man. As God's army we have been bestowed with the power to remove demons from a host body with a touch, without harming the host, and the demon then ceases to be."

"So you touch the demon and they die for good?"

"Yes."

"That's friggin' awesome."

"They are not aware yet that our disease has been cured; we plan to gather our numbers and then attack together. The element of surprise will make all the difference, once they realize what we can do with touch, things will become more complicated."

"When will that be?"

"As I am here all the angels are gathering in Heaven, we should be prepared by tomorrow afternoon."

"What should we do?" asked Sam.

"If you were to join us you would be in the way," Castiel explained. "Remain here and once our initial attack has happened we will decide how to plan from there."

"What are our chances of winning now, Cas?" asked Dean.

"We will know definitively after tomorrow but as of now, the chances are high," answered Castiel.

"That's what I like to hear."

"I am afraid I must go; I have been granted the privilege of leading my own garrison. I must gather my angels."

"We'll be here, let us know what we can do."

"Thank you, Dean, for everything."

With that Castiel vanished and the boys all looked to one another. The apocalypse had begun, just as they knew it would but just then they were together. Their hope had been restored by Castiel and the angels and they no longer had to be on their toes in anticipation. They were alive and safe, at least for one more day, before everything would change.

_**THE END**_

**ANONS**

_sates-_Thanks so much! No more Cas in my story would have made me sad so I had to bring him back. ;) Chappy 11 was hard to write, I got all teary eyed. Terry's name for Dean makes me laugh everytime I write it. loll I'm so glad you like the story, thanks so much for reading and commenting! 3

_So, there it was! The final chapter of Angel's Sorrow. I really hope you guys loved the story and it really means the world to me all the comments I've gotten. It really makes me happy that I managed to create a Supernatural fic that stayed true to the boys and I really hoped the end was satisfying for you. Thanks so much for all the love! You readers make my day. ^^_  
_~Fluffy_


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